What are the laws relating to voluntary and mandatory reporting for child abuse?

What are the laws relating to voluntary and mandatory reporting for child abuse?

The ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, and Victoria provide for voluntary reporting to an authoritative body if a child is being maltreated or requires care. The provisions differ slightly between the jurisdictions. For instance in New South Wales, s 24 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW) provides that a person believing on reasonable grounds that a child is at risk of harm, may notify the Director-General of the Department of Community Services. Additionally, some jurisdictions provides that any person acting honestly and without recklessness in their reporting, will not be been deemed to have breached their professional ethics and is protected from civil liability, such as s 874 of the Children and Young People Act 2008(ACT).

Although there are no specific provisions in South Australia and Western Australia for voluntary reporting, both jurisdictions still provide for those who have acted in good faith when reporting maltreatment of a child to the relevant authority, and will generally be protected from civil or criminal liability.

Our Services

Testimonials

"I would like to thank Alfonso and all the SB team for all the hard work over these past few years. I am more than pleased with the result that has been achieved and I know the result will be of untold benefit to my children."

RO 2015

"I can honestly say that you did make my case a lot easier than I thought possible. Everyone I talked to - Albert and all different members of staff that I met during last year - were all kind and understanding. All lawyers know the law, but you went a bit further - your compassion made the difference. For that I am grateful and thank you all."

SR 2015

"I was very happy with the services provided by Sarah Bevan Lawyers in every way and we would be more than happy to recommend your firm to any of our friends who needed your services. We found every one we dealt with to be helpful from the very first conversation with Joy."

HS 2014

"I have absolutely no complaints as to the service and help I received from your office and I would not hesitate to recommend your office to anyone needing assistance in Family Law."

PS 2014

"Sarah Bevan family lawyers has been amazing and achieved unbelievably great results for myself and my children. Just wanted to say a big thank you again for all your hard work. You have helped me achieve a result that I would never have imagined. Thank you for giving my kids a voice and fighting on as you did an awesome job. You guys really are the best family law firm I’ll definitely be making referrals!"

LE 2014

"The support staff and Alfonso made this period so much more manageable. I am really happy with the outcome of my case and want to thank the team for their ongoing support."

SP 2013

"Very pleased with the overall process, of being understood and treated as a person not a case number. Thank you for your professionalism."

JB 2012

"Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers did an amazing job. You were honest, realistic and minimised the time, cost and grief associated with my case. All in all, it was a pleasure dealing with your firm and I could not have been happier or treated better under the circumstances." - GG 2012

GG 2012

"Sarah has been an absolute delight to deal with. Thankyou Sarah, very down to earth and easy to communicate with, and to top it off she is such a strong but reasonable lawyer."

PL 2011

"On the range of possible outcomes last Friday at FMC I think the result was better than I was realistically bracing for. I have a route to a final resolution on this matter now - as a direct result of the expertise , talent and attention that you applied to my matter. Thank you both very much for your efforts."

ST 2011

"I just wanted to say thankyou again for all your help through this legal process which was made very easy by all of you."

LC 2011

"Thank you for your valuable assistance in my matter. I am very happy with the outcome! I love that the Judge pointed out that the affidavit you did for me was ‘a textbook case in how to write affidavits."

MD 2010

"We appreciate all your team and what you are doing and we feel very comfortable knowing that we are in your capable hands."

JF 2009

"Thank you, Sarah. You know what is in my best interest and you always do the best. Thank you again for your help and encouragement! You may not believe how much it means to me!!"

LZ 2008

"Thankyou for your professional help. I felt secure knowing Sarah was there to assist me every step of the way. I will definitely recommend your firm."

PG 2007

"I am so glad my case ended so well in my favour, thanks to all your help. Thankyou for all your professionalism, skill and empathy."

MW 2006

"My case was so difficult but I know that I always had Sarah on my side. All the staff were extremely understanding and helpful."

JT 2007

"Your services was impeccable. Thanking you all very much."

This was not a pleasant process, but it was necessary. SB Family Lawyers were always completely professional and gave me very realistic advice. They really helped me focus on trying to get everything resolved, and I always knew they had my back even which included when they gave me 'tough love'. Mine was a complicated case, but Sarah and her team are so astute that they got the details previous lawyers had missed. I was completely happy with their services

Susan Wentworth

Thank you to the whole team at Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers. Your support, and incredibly reasonable and detailed advice, throughout this process has been nothing short of amazing. I know you come under a lot of fire as family lawyers, but I know from my own experience that great family lawyers like you are exactly what someone in a vulnerable position after separation needs.

Marcus Cescon

Lisa, the receptionist who answers the phone, is professional, kind, patient and absolutely wonderful. I live in California, but I will be visiting Sydney soon to help my daughter with a family matter. I look forward to meeting with the lawyer. If the lawyer is anything like Lisa it will be an excellent experience!!!

Jack Krause

I wish I could give them more than 5 stars! The most outstanding lawyers I have ever been involved with.
Professional advice which always outlines all positions and allows me to make informed decisions. Empathetic to my situation but realistic in their assessment of the situation. Experienced, efficient, honourable and knowledgeable. I am just so grateful to be able to trust them with all the difficulties arising from my very long and involved family law matter!
Thank you Sarah and all of your outstanding team!!!

Alli Marley

Sarah and her team have always been great to deal with. They are quick to respond and their experience shines through. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend SB Family Lawyers to anyone going through a difficult time and needs an Accredited Specialist with a great breadth of knowledge, experience and most of all ... understanding.
Sarah, thanks for a great result.

AM, Ryde

I was very pleased with the team... I found them professional and understanding / supportive to my needs.. thank you!!

Jay S

I was grateful for the supportive and personal assistance that Alfonso Layson and the Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers team provided during my family law case. I appreciated Sarah Bevan Lawyers’ honest and direct approach in giving input and advice while also allowing me to take or leave it. I learned a lot about the judicial system (it’s expensive and time-consuming!), but under my circumstances, I was pleased with the outcome.

Francois DaCosta

Professional and efficient advice from every member of this firm we came in contact with. Great communication and client support in every way while dealing with an international issue.

Lyn Gribble

Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers at Parramatta were very responsive to my needs with fast responses and did not implement anything unnecessary that would have increased my costs. I also found them to be sensitive to my emotional state and supportive.

Rebecca O'Reilly

Sarah Bevan Lawyers have been managing our Surrogacy case for quite some time now and I can truly say their performance has been outstanding.

Alfonso Layson together with his assistants Joy and Tiffany have provided my husband and I with exceptional service, their conduct has been professional, full of integrity, consideration and respect from the beginning. I cannot recommend them highly enough. This process of undertaking a Surrogacy has been incredibly emotional for our family and being able to have this level of trust in a law firm, particularly Alfonso, has been appreciated beyond any words I can express here.

They made us feel like we were their most important clients and with our case being, I have no doubt, far from their most lucrative that didn’t come across at all, in fact quite the opposite. We couldn’t have asked for more.